The present invention pertains generally to torso harnesses which are utilized by rescue personnel to perform rescue operations while suspended from a safety line, and in particular to a rescue harness which is designed for use with a helicopter, and can be adapted to meet different types of rescue situations.
Harnesses for supporting a person while the person is suspended from a safety line are well known in the art. These devices include various types of rescue harnesses, safety harnesses for window washers and tree trimmers, mountain climbing harnesses, and parachute harnesses. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,893 shows an articulating leg sling and belt. The leg slings and safety belt provide combined articulation permitting freedom of movement. The belt has offset fastening means which permit sliding movement along a portion of the belt adjacent The attachment point to a carabiner. U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,436 illustrates a safety harness and belt assembly for aircraft crew members. The device includes left and right slings, a first belt assembly having first and second ends, a survival kit strap attachment fitting which slidably engages the belt assembly, and a mechanism for realeasably attaching the fitting to a seat of the aircraft. The slings are designed to extend from the chest of the crew member over the crew member""s shoulders, to the back of the crew member. U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,976 defines a safety harness to be worn by a worker, especially a worker wearing a plastic suit for protection in a radioactive or chemically hostile environment. The harness comprises a torso surrounding portion with at least one horizontal strap for adjustably securing the harness about the torso, two vertical shoulder straps with rings just forward of the peak of the shoulders for attaching a lifeline and a pair of adjustable leg supporting straps releasably attachable to the torso surrounding portion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,292 discloses a harness with adjustable means for supporting a tool belt. The harness is arranged to suspend a tool belt, and comprises a pair of leg straps, a pair of upper torso straps, a pair of rappelling straps, a seat strap, and four belt suspenders. Each of the upper torso straps includes a chest strap portion and a back strap portion, with the chest strap portions extending across respective portions of the chest of the worker. U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,833 illustrates a fall prevention and lowering system. The systems consists of a rope grab, a body engagement device such as a harness, and a lanyard and lowering device.
Harnesses used for helicopter rescues have seen little development over the years. Most harness styles were developed years ago for work on chimneys, buildings, and rock climbing. Helicopter rescue operators have merely bought these preexisting harnesses, attached them to their cables, and taken off. There are four primary harness types: (1) vertical body orientation, (2) horizontal body orientation, (3) inverted body orientation, and (4) seated body orientation. The harness for seated body orientation is the most frequently used for cliff rescues. Horizontal body orientation is used for swift water rescues. In each scenario, the occupant cannot land and must rely entirely on the helicopter to provided support. The harness for inverted body orientation is used for descending narrow openings such as caves, elevator shafts, and holes. This scenario would be utilized by ground units such as urban search and rescues (U.S.A.R.).
In order to save weight and space, usually only one harness is carried on a helicopter at a time. This one harness is selected at the airport and is put on prior to take off. If the helicopter is out on a call, and another call comes in requiring the use of a different type of harness, the helicopter must return to the airport, drop off the first harness, and pick up the second harness, or alternatively, if available, a second helicopter with another rescue crew must be dispatched.
A harness that could be used for a variety of situations would therefore provide an advantage over the prior art harnesses.
The harness of the present invention includes means for orienting the rescuer in any of the vertical, horizontal, inverted, or even seated positions. Therefore only one harness type is required, and additional trips to the airport are thereby avoided. Also, the harness of the present invention is adjustable so that it may be effectively worn by various size individuals. It is primarily an adaptable rescue harness which is worn by rescue personnel to perform a variety of different rescue operations. The harness allows the rescuer to be suspended from the end of a line, and lowered by helicopter, crane, hoist, or hand to the rescue site. The harness includes attachment points for the line which permit the rescuer to be suspended in a variety of orientations. A preferred name for the present invention is xe2x80x9cTHE RUSHxe2x80x9d. The name is an acronym derived from:
R for rappel, a technique used in mountain rescues;
U for USAR, which is an acronym for urban search and rescues;
S for swift water rescues; and,
H for helicopter used in cliff rescues and any hoist operation.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a rescue harness for suspending a rescuer by a line, includes (1) an upright attachment, so the rescuer may be suspended in a substantially upright position, (2) an inverted attachment, so the rescuer may be suspended in a substantially inverted position, (3) a seated attachment, so the rescuer may be suspended in a substantially seated position, and (4) a back attachment, so the rescuer may be suspended in an angled forward facing position.
In accordance with an important aspect of the invention, the back attachment includes a longitudinally adjustable back strap which permits the forward facing suspension angle to be adjusted from substantially vertical to substantially horizontal.
In accordance with an important feature of the invention, two spaced longitudinally adjustable front straps limit the backward travel of the rescuer when in a seated position.
In accordance with another important aspect of the invention, two spaced chest connectors are provided for removably receiving a capture strap.
In accordance with another important feature of the invention, two longitudinally adjustable buttock straps allow the harness to be securely fitted around the buttocks of the rescuer.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.